Wendy's to close hundreds of US stores in bid to halt falling profit

Wendy’s plans to adjacent hundreds U.S. restaurants implicit the adjacent fewer months successful an effort to boost its profit

Wendy’s plans to adjacent hundreds U.S. restaurants implicit the adjacent fewer months successful an effort to boost its profit.

The Dublin, Ohio-based concatenation said during a league telephone with investors Friday that it planned to statesman closing restaurants successful the 4th fourth of this year. The institution said it expected a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its U.S. stores to beryllium affected, but it didn't springiness immoderate much details.

Wendy’s ended the 3rd 4th with 6,011 U.S. restaurants. If 5% of those locations were impacted, it would mean 300 store closures.

The caller circular of closures comes connected apical of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy's locations successful 2024. At the time, Wendy's said that galore of the 55-year-old chain's restaurants are simply retired of date.

Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO, said Friday the institution believes closing locations that are underperforming – whether it’s from a fiscal oregon lawsuit work position – volition assistance amended postulation and profitability astatine its remaining U.S. restaurants.

Cook became Wendy’s CEO successful July aft the company's erstwhile CEO, Kirk Tanner, near to go the president and CEO of Hershey Co.

“When we look astatine the strategy today, we person immoderate restaurants that bash not elevate the marque and are a resistance from a franchisee fiscal show perspective. The extremity is to code and hole those restaurants,” Cook said during a league telephone with investors.

Cook said successful immoderate cases, Wendy’s volition marque improvements to struggling stores, including adding exertion oregon equipment. In different cases, it volition transportation ownership to a antithetic relation oregon adjacent the edifice altogether.

U.S. accelerated nutrient chains person been struggling to pull lower-income U.S. consumers successful the past fewer years arsenic ostentation has raised prices. In the July-September period, Wendy’s said its U.S. same-store sales, oregon income astatine locations unfastened astatine slightest a year, fell 5% compared to the aforesaid play past year.

Cook said $5 and $8 repast deals — which person been matched by McDonald's — person helped bring immoderate postulation backmost to its U.S. stores. But Wendy's isn't doing a bully occupation of bringing successful caller customers, Cook said, truthful the institution plans to displacement its selling to stress its worth and the freshness of its ingredients.

Wendy's shares dropped 7% Friday. On Monday, they were down 6% successful day trading.

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